Linnet
by GryffindorCriss
Summary: Newt and Tina welcome their second child - but it's not simple. No, it's never simple where they're concerned. Newt/Tina.


**Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa etc etc. Whatever you celebrate, have an awesome day!**

 **This is the second fic about Newt and Tina's children being born; I suggest reading "Phoenix" before this one. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the fic!**

* * *

"Newt."

"Yes, Tina? Is everything alright?"

Her hand tightened around his almost painfully. "I want this baby out and I want it out _now_."

He winced at the dangerous tone in her voice. "I know, dear, I know, but it can't be too long now – the Healers said that sometimes certain babies take longer-"

" _Newt._ I've been in labour for thirty-six hours," Tina gritted out with a glare. "Go find a Healer, and tell them that I want this baby out _now_ – if it doesn't come out _now_ then I'm going to hex someone!"

Newt tried to back away uneasily, but her hand was still tightly clamped onto his. "Yes. Alright. I'll let them know…. that is, if you let go of my hand."

Almost grudgingly, her hand retreated to clutch at the sheets; she was sweating, panting, face twisted in absolute _pain_. "I'm serious, Newt Scamander, I don't know how much more of this I can take…it hurts so much more than it did with Phoenix…"

The mention of their son gave Newt a momentary panic – they had left him with Queenie and Jacob when the contractions had started, and he was sure that Phoenix was currently pining for his parents by now. The thought made him all the more willing to find a Healer who could perhaps speed up the process.

"I know that you said labour could take a long time," He said when he found the Healer who had been midwifing for them in the corridor, nervously avoiding her eye despite the fact he was a good foot taller than her. "But thirty-six hours _does_ seem rather excessive, if you ask me…"

The Healer just sighed. "I know. Normally we would have expected some dilation by now, but for some reason it's not happening. We'll have to do a quick scanning spell to see how things are, if you and your wife permit."

Newt wasn't too keen on the idea, but he knew that there was no other choice; if he had to go through another twenty-four hours of his wife screaming in agony he was sure he'd go absolutely insane. It was for this reason that he agreed.

"How are we, Mrs Scamander?" The Healer asked, smiling as she entered the room.

Tina's glare was deadly. "How do you _think_ I am?! I've been in labour for _nearly_ two whole days! I want this baby out of me right _now_!"

"Well, I'll see what I can do," The Healer said calmly, pulling her wand from her uniform pocket. "If you don't mind, I'd like to quickly scan and see the baby's position – perhaps we can coax them to move closer to the birth canal."

Tina let out a groan but managed a nod; as the Healer murmured a spell and pointed it at her abdomen, Newt was by her side again. "It can't be much longer now," He assured her half-heartedly, reaching to push some hair behind her ear. "It won't be long until we'll have our baby, you'll see."

"It…hurts so bad…" She stated, now tearful as she reached for his hand. "I don't know if I can do this…"

"Oh, I'm sure you can," He disagreed positively. "You've fought dark wizards and…and helped me tame some of the more temperamental creatures out there…I'm perfectly sure you can have this baby."

"And…" Tina hesitated. "Do you think…Do you think Phoenix is okay?"

"I'm sure Queenie and Jacob have everything under control," Newt murmured, trying to keep her calm: to be quite honest, he wasn't sure how Queenie and Jacob were going to manage both Phoenix _and_ their own children but he decided it would be wise to not mention this to his wife.

Tina gave a small sigh. "It's been a whole day and a half, Newt: I want to see him again. We haven't been away from him for this long before – he must be missing us like crazy."

"Yes, I'm sure he is," He agreed quietly. "But he'll be fine with Jacob and Queenie; he loves them, and they've had more than enough experience with children by now-"

The Healer suddenly let out a noise – and her smile had disappeared quickly. Newt's heart plummeted, and Tina looked worried again. "What? What's the matter with my baby?!"

"Nothing," The Healer assured her quickly, though she looked concerned. "The baby is by all accounts healthy at this moment – but they're turned the wrong way."

"Turned the wrong…No, fix it," Tina demanded weakly, desperate all of a sudden. "Turn them around!"

"I…I don't think I can," The Healer said apologetically. "At least, not with magic. There's two options now, Mr and Mrs Scamander, and I suggest that you think them both through thoroughly before you decide."

Newt squeezed his wife's hands, his whole world suddenly focused on what the older woman was saying; Tina was silent, holding her breath as she waited.

"We could attempt to deliver the baby breech," The Healer continued gravely. "That is, the baby would come out buttocks first instead of head first. We don't recommend it as it can harm or even risk the child's life. The second option would be to attempt what muggles call a 'caesarean' birth – meaning that we would have to cut open your abdomen, Mrs Scamander, to remove the baby. It's relatively safe, but some witches don't approve of the method as it's uncommon and can leave a scar."

"Cut open her…Merlin," Newt muttered, feeling as though he were about to faint. There had been a rare few times he'd heard of doing this to creatures having a difficult birth, and he himself had done it just once with his wand and a great deal of medicine…but Tina was _not_ a creature, she was a human, and he couldn't be sure for himself if it would work the same way.

Tina looked equally unsure. "Cut me open? Is that…is that really safe? Wouldn't I bleed out?"

"It's sure to be safer than a breech delivery," The Healer informed her gently. "Our doctors are very experienced and trained, and they would know what they're doing – I can assure you that you'd be in safe hands, should you decide to go with this option. In the end, it's up to you."

Tina looked to Newt unsurely, pondering to herself. "I…I want the baby delivered safely," She whispered, close to tears from the pain and stress of it all. "I want them to be safe, Newt."

Newt nodded slowly, resting his forehead against hers for a moment. "It's…It's up to you," He said finally, swallowing the lump in his throat. "You should decide, not me."

Tina took a deep breath, resting her free hand on her swollen belly; she just felt the bump for a long moment, clearly thinking and readying herself. "Okay. Alright," She announced to the Healer, voice louder now. "I want the…the second option. I want this baby safe."

The Healer nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "Of course. I'll let the doctors know, and someone will be with you shortly."

As she left, Newt pressed a kiss to Tina's forehead. "It's going to be fine, love," He murmured to her gently. "Our baby will be perfectly _fine_ , I'm sure of it."

"I'm scared, Newt," She admitted, shaking her head. "I'm _so_ scared something's going to go wrong…"

He was as well, he wanted to say, but it wouldn't be helpful to let her know that; instead he rested his cheek on the top of her head and sighed. "I know, dear, I know."

* * *

This 'caesarean' birth ended up being just a tad more complicated than cutting the baby out, it soon transpired.

It seemed the doctors and healers spent hours assessing Tina and her bump (though it was really only a half an hour at the most), figuring out the right spot to cut, using numerous anti-septic spells to clean the area, reassuring her that they knew what they were doing. All of these things seemed reasonable for the situation, however, so Newt was relatively calm…up until they conjured a curtain to hide what they were doing from view.

Then he panicked.

"What are you doing?" He asked urgently, standing up from the bed suddenly. "Why are you hiding it?"

"It's for privacy reasons, Mr Scamander," The doctor assured him. "After all, we're about to cut into your wife's abdomen – we doubted that either of you would want to be privy to that."

Newt felt his cheeks go pink. "Oh. No. Of course not. That would be…indecent…I…right…" He took his place on the bed beside Tina again, taking her hand. "Alright, love, they're just about to do it…Are you sure?"

Tina let out a half-hearted groan. "I just want this baby out safe, Newt; if they need to cut me open to do it, then _I'll let them do it_."

Of course she would – that was what she would want, he thought, for the baby to be safe and healthy no matter what. She was selfless like that.

"Alright, Mrs Scamander," The head-healer announced, wand poised and ready. "We've cast a numbing-spell to prevent any pain and you've had your pain potion as well – we won't be cutting very deep, of course, just enough to get to the amniotic sac around the baby. You might feel some pressure or a little scratching, but there should be no major pain. If there is, let us know immediately."

Tina just nodded, hands suddenly reaching for Newt. "Just look at me," She begged anxiously, breathing heavily. "If I think about this too much, I might faint."

Newt laid a hand over hers, looking directly at her face – she was the only one he could ever stand to look at directly – and hummed to himself, like he would with a creature in pain (which he supposed she was, in some ways). "Don't think about it, Tina. Think instead about how wonderful everything will be when our baby arrives…we'll have two of them, Tina, _two_ of them. How splendid, don't you think?"

"Yes," She agreed readily, relaxing at his touch. "Splendid…do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

"Either is perfect by me," He declared, and she could tell he was speaking the truth. "I will love them no matter what, and I know you will too."

Tina looked like she was about to agree but then let out a small wince. "Oh."

The head-healer looked at her briefly. "Everything okay, Mrs Scamander? Does it hurt very much?"

"No," She said hurriedly, giving him a half-hearted smile. "Just a pinch. I'm fine."

He nodded before going back to the task at hand. Newt leaned in closer, voice dropping as he enquired, "Is it honestly fine? Or were you just saying that?"

"Honestly," She assured him, giving his fingers a squeeze. "I've had far worse than this…trust me."

Newt squeezed her hands back supportively and started to ramble, if only to take her mind off of things. "I know, love, I know; it won't be long now, probably less than an hour at this rate."

Tina let out a small, almost inaudible, snort. "It had better be."

* * *

The baby was the most gorgeous creature he had ever been blessed enough to hold in his arms, even when covered in blood, even when she was screaming loud enough to wake the dead, even though it was only for a short moment until a Healer came to take them away to be cleaned up. He didn't even get a chance to ask the gender before the baby was gone, but all he cared about in that moment was that they were healthy and safe.

The head-healer seemed rather satisfied as he finished checking the now stitched up wound on Tina's abdomen. "Alright, so all of the stitches are in now and it shouldn't be too long until they heal and dissolve… You've done a marvellous job, Mrs Scamander," He said with a smile, looking at her directly. "Many witches panic during their caesarean births, sometimes even fainting – you've been the calmest mother I've worked with."

She just smiled back tiredly, clearly drained of all energy. "It's fine…is the baby okay?"

"We'll find out," He assured her. "It shouldn't be long now until Healer Malloy is finished cleaning them up, and then you can hold them. I'll be back in an hour or so to check up on both you and the baby…in the meantime, I'd like to offer my congratulations to the both of you, Mr and Mrs Scamander."

Newt absent-mindedly shook his hand before moving to sit on the bed beside his wife; she looked rather pale, still sweating and exhausted from all of the pain and stress – but she was bright-eyed and smiling all the same, clearly pleased.

"I got to hold them," He said quietly, taking her hand. "I got to hold them for just a second before the healer took them…they're so beautiful, Tina, they had all of their fingers and toes, and this tiny, _tiny_ , little nose with a tiny little mouth…"

His rambling was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat; when the couple turned to look, they saw Healer Malloy slowly walking towards them with a tiny bundle in her arms.

"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Scamander," She said softly, beaming at them. "You have a healthy little baby girl."

Tina was already reaching out for the baby, energy returning immediately. "Let me see."

Newt could only watch in fascination as the healer handed the baby to Tina, helping her to adjust the weight in her arms; his mind was racing as it fully registered what the healer had told them, that they had a girl, a daughter…it made him feel warm inside all of a sudden.

"Newt," Tina murmured, voice no louder than a whisper. "You were right…she's beautiful."

Newt looked down at the little face peeking out from the blankets and couldn't help but let a tear escape; she _was_ so beautiful, tiny with round pink cheeks, her tiny red lips parted as she breathed. She even had a full head of thick hair – a ruddy colour like his own.

He inexplicably found himself falling in love again, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I take it you haven't had any more ideas on the name?" Newt asked tentatively, and she shook her head. "Might I suggest…I know it might seem strange and unusual at first, but after looking at her…I thought of a linnet."

"Linnet?"

"Yes. A linnet is a type of songbird, closely related to a finch – they're very small, very slim, but with long tails."

Tina raised an eyebrow at him. "She doesn't have a tail."

"No, I know," He agreed quickly, wary of annoying her so soon after the birth. "But she _is_ very small…and very loud, by the looks of things."

Tina was studying the baby now, clearly considering. "Well, she _does_ have quite a pair of lungs on her, I'll give you that…and that's not such a bad name overall…I love it," She agreed, now beaming at her husband with just the faintest hint of tears of joy in her eyes. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Linnet Scamander."

"Linnet Scamander," Newt repeated, gazing down at their daughter in adoration. " _Yes_. She's perfect – _absolutely_ perfect."

 **Bah. I've just realized: Phoenix and Linnet Scamander. Both winged creatures that fly. I'm starting a trend here! (in all honestly, though, the next child isn't named after a bird or similar – it's still an animal, but not a bird/winged one)**

 **I hope you enjoyed – I also hope that I'll get the third fic done soon!**


End file.
